What do you put in a carrycot?

[PistachioTruffle]

......Apart from the baby?!

DC1 will be a winter baby, and I had a sudden realisation that I'm not sure what you put in the carrycot part of a pram! Does it need sheets? A waterproof cover? If so, will Moses basket sheets fit? And is the mattress inside comfy and supportive enough, or is it best to buy a separate one?

And then, when baby is inside, what do you put them in? A snowsuit/pram suit thingy, or do you treat it as a little bed on wheels and do sheets/wraps and blankets? I really have no idea!

Yes to Moses basket sheets, and at home you can use the pram like an extra Moses basket, so with a blanket for sleeping in.

The rule of thumb for babies is that they need one more later than you. So, a vest/babygrow/snowsuit equals top/cardi/winter coat plus they need a blanket. Your pram should come with a raincover - if not, buy a compatible one. They're excellent for keeping wind out too.

Just remember to delayer baby when you go inside!

Erm... fitted sheet yes, imo moses ones normally fit, i have also made fitted ones from nice cotton prints too though. Waterproof cover, humm.. i can't remember, i suspect not??

I always did blankets (have never got the hang of topsheets on anyone's bed, let alone a baby's) but snowsuit would also work. Blankets much easier to adjust when going from cold outside to boiling inside without having to wake a baby to undress it. Up to you though imho.

Never even occurred to me to buy a different mattress, in my mind why would they include it if it wasn't comfy enough? Plus the safety testing of whatever carrycot you buy will be based upon the use of the mattress supplied.

Hope that's slightly helpful.

Yes, moses basket sheets should also work. Carrycots come with a cover which are water resistant at least (you won't see them in this weather as its so hot!) and then DD would either be in a pram suit or under a snuggly blanket or both on really cold days.

Its important not to change your mattress unless you need to (and if so check the height of it) because the mattress height links into safety testing (I think the sides have to be a certain height to prevent the baby falling out). Putting a deeper mattress in would lower this and be a safety risk.

Thank you all very much, that's very helpful

Tiggywunkle, that's a very good point about mattress safety and something I hadn't really thought of. The one we're thinking of getting (bugaboo chameleon) says the carrycot is suitable for overnight use, so I presume it must be quite comfy already!

Yep a sheet, then we used blankets ( same pram)

I don't find coats/ snowsuits very practical on a small baby of carrycot size. The main thing about a decent carrycot like the bugaboo is the portability and overnight sleeping. So for example if at home and they fall asleep, to then go out its easier to just add a hat and blankets than waking them to put on coat. If you then go into shops/ cafe etc it's heated and they get too hot so then again it's easier to just take off blankets than wake baby taking off snowsuit etc

When we went of to restaurants in eve we would often take baby night sleeping bag with us and then pop baby in when they fell asleep. Then when home would just wheel pram next to our bed and they slept in that ( and we didn't have to keep checking blankets weren't near face)

Ds was a winter baby. I never did the snowsuit thing as it is difficult when going in and out of places and think it would be tempting to just leave them in it.

He had a little soft jacket instead and I used blankets which were easier to layer and pull off when in and out of buildings.

Bugaboo told me the other week that none of their carrycots are suitable for overnight sleeping here in the UK. I have to say that surprised me, but its apparently because the carrycots have fabric sides to make them washable. Bugaboo preferred the carrycots to be washable over being suitable for overnight sleeping - I assume because the sides are fabric rather than hard bodied (in the same way that the old iCandy Pear soft cots arent suitable either, or the Baby Jogger City Select ones - they are all fabrics on a frame.)

Thank you everybody for the advice, now I know!

Tiggy, that's a pain about the overnight sleeping, I know I'd read somewhere online that it was suitable but it didn't occur to me that it might have applied to the safety standards of a different country. Luckily I hadn't planned on using it for that purpose often, it was just an extra bonus. I'm assuming that it applies to all bugaboos then, as they all have the soft sides? (We've actually ordered the new buffalo instead of the chameleon )

Yes it does - it was the Buffalo that started the conversation off. I had been told when I bought my Cam that it was suitable for overnight sleeping, but apparently I was misinformed. The soft detachable fabric sides are what makes the difference with the Bugaboo's.

If you have a pukey baby a towel at the head end is very useful - easy to change and wash.